From Hitmakers To Hostage-Takers: The Story Of TLC’s $75 Million Power Struggle
For so many people throughout the world, it's hard not to see life as a movie star or a platinum-selling recording artist as a dream come true. But for almost as long as the entertainment industry has existed, there has been a robust library of creative works warning starry-eyed dreamers that it's often little more than a seductive lie.
Because while it's true that a small percentage of actors and musicians will become millionaires, just as many will find that they've only been putting their heart and soul into making other people rich. And as TLC's dramatic story makes clear, even the most successful artists can feel used and unappreciated.
An unprecedented smash hit
According to the NME, the explosive success of TLC's sophomore album CrazySexyCool was so unstoppable that the album went platinum 12 times in the United States and sold 23 million copies worldwide.
As a result, TLC would make history as the first-ever all-female group to achieve a diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.
How that name came to be
The title CrazySexyCool was entirely the conception of Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez, who felt it encapsulated the personalities of each member of the group.
Specifically, she saw herself as the "crazy" one, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins as the "cool" one, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas as the "beautiful" one. And she was firm about these labels too.
Chilli didn't quite agree
As she told the NME, Chilli didn't feel Left Eye described her bandmates very accurately, which left her somewhat upset.
During an interview, she said, "I thought Tionne should have been [beautiful]. We all could have played crazy and [beautiful], but I know I'm cool – I'm the cool one. I was confused as to why I would be [beautiful]."
Left Eye insisted
But as T-Boz fondly recalled, "Lisa slapped her upside her head and was like, 'Girl, you better recognize!'"
And so, the name stuck. But it likely wouldn't have meant so much to so many people if the album didn't turn out the way it did. Upon its release, it was easy to see how it became so celebrated.
A brand new sound
CrazySexyCool was not only a significant departure from TLC's debut album, Ooooooohhh…On the TLC Tip, but also something that hadn't been before in mainstream pop culture.
The mature blend of hip-hop, soul, and R&B that resulted would not only cement their status as legends but set the blueprint for future megastars like Destiny's Child and the Spice Girls.
More serious than before
The album — particularly its most celebrated single, "Waterfalls" — also touched on topics that other mainstream acts would have been squeamish about last the time, issues that were considered very controversial and taboo at the time.
According to the BBC, "Waterfalls" was the first number-one song to mention HIV by name.
Supremely confident in its success
Although the album came to exist surprisingly organically, it was clearer to the group than anyone that it would also turn out to be a massive commercial success.
As Chilli told the BBC, "And I remember when we were done, a guy at Arista Records said, 'It's a great album, and you guys will probably sell a couple of million.' We were like, 'A couple of million? We're going to sell five million. At least.'"
They were right, not that it mattered
Indeed, the group proved to have sharp instincts about the commercial viability of their record. That's clearly evident now, but it was also true shortly after its release.
As T-Boz told the BBC, CrazySexyCool had made their label $75 million by the time TLC realized they wouldn't personally see any of that money.
Literally suffering from success
As for why it didn't make any difference whether the album sold a couple of million or tens of millions, the fact was that either way, each member was only paid $50,000 for making it.
So despite the fact that they created a multi-platinum selling record, TLC would find themselves filing for bankruptcy shortly after CrazySexyCool's release.
No straight answers
Naturally, this led them to inquire about what struck them as an unfair payment structure, but they soon learned it was unclear who was even in charge of paying them.
Everyone seemed to have a different answer, which only made their financial struggles and compensation investigation all the more frustrating.
Desperation sets in
With no answers in sight and the system that kept them underpaid firmly in place, the group started to consider more drastic measures to show Arista Records they wouldn't be ignored.
During an interview with the BBC, Chilli said, "We were hot because we didn't understand how we were selling all these records with nothing to show for it. So it was like, 'Alright, let's just go to the source.'"
The man at the top
In this case, "the source" was none other than longtime music industry figure and then-president of Arista Records, Clive Davis. So to his surprise, TLC marched straight into his office.
And what he would soon learn was that they weren't just there to have a friendly chat. And he wouldn't have much luck blowing them off.
His only choice was to listen to them
That's because they weren't just pursuing a re-negotiation of their contracts. Their situation was dire enough that they were going to show him why it wasn't a wise idea to mess with someone who described themselves as crazy.
In other words, they were fully committed to taking Davis hostage until their demands were met.
Left Eye's brush with the law
To understand how this hostage situation was even feasible, one must first understand what had recently been going on in Left Eye's life at the time.
As Clash Magazine recounted, she had been in the midst of a tumultuous relationship with former NFL wide receiver Andre Rison. Let's just say things did not end well.
She faced the consequences
Left Eye would end up serving her subsequent sentence at a diversion center and recorded her vocals for CrazySexyCool while on what she described as a two-hour break from her time there.
Leading up to the record's release, this context ended up getting the group in more trouble than they realized during a photo shoot.
They didn't realize how it looked
While promoting the then-upcoming record to Vibe Magazine, TLC was presented with a wardrobe of police uniforms and firefighting outfits. Since the other members had already personally dealt with what Left Eye had done, they didn't make the connection.
As Chilli told the BBC, "Lisa was on probation, and of course, the judge saw it, so it was like we were just some little bad girls being nonchalant about this huge situation."
In retrospect, they felt set up
But while TLC hadn't realized what these clothes were referencing at the time, Vibe's subsequent cover story made it clear that Left Eye's incident was why they selected this wardrobe in the first place.
Chilli said, "It didn't even dawn on me that they were being a little ratchet about having that type of attire for us to choose from."
Why is any of this relevant?
But while the members of TLC were keen to put Left Eye's legal troubles behind them, her stay in the diversion center directly influenced how this hostage situation went down.
One might expect that her prior brush with the law would make the consequences of this act harsher, but the influence was far more direct than that.
Left Eye made some powerful friends
While Left Eye was at the diversion center, she met and befriended some other women who apparently didn't want to see her and her bandmates pushed around.
And since they were reportedly large and looked intimidating, they had a way of putting an exclamation mark on any point the group wanted to make.
An office under siege
So TLC brought them along and stationed two women outside Davis' office. And in case he decided he wouldn't listen to what the group had to say anyway, another of Left Eye's new friends went in with them.
And anyone who tried to get them to move would quickly learn how difficult that would be.
They answered to nobody
Because not only were the women TLC brought with them a force to be reckoned with, but the group was the only people they would listen to in that situation.
Chilli said, "And unless we gave them the nod, no one could come in or out, no matter who it was."
A highlight of the movie
Even many of TLC's fans weren't aware of this chapter in their lives and only heard about it from the VH1 biopic about the group, CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story.
So when they saw a scene chronicling the incident in the movie, they assumed that it must have been exaggerated in some way.
If anything, the opposite was true
Chilli told the BBC that the only way the scene was inaccurately depicted in the movie was that it seemed less chaotic on-screen than in real life.
During the interview, she said, "Oh no, honey, that was not fiction at all. As a matter of fact, it was a little toned down for TV."
A sober second thought
That said, Chilli couldn't exactly blame fans for thinking the story was embellished after looking back on what happened. Indeed, a case of truth being stranger than fiction.
She said, "It was like a real movie and, looking back, I'm like, 'What were we thinking?' But we didn't have anything to lose."
The situation escalated
While Left Eye's burly friends ensured that Davis had to sit there and take the situation as it arose, that didn't mean they'd be able to take on the New York Police Department themselves.
And so the NYPD intervened, and shortly after they reached Arista's headquarters, the hostage situation drew to a close.
A surprisingly fruitful gambit
Normally, artists could only ruin their careers and likely their freedom by taking their label boss hostage to such an extent that police intervention was required.
However, a once-in-a-lifetime stroke of good luck was apparently with TLC because the fallout from the dramatic event actually ended up working out in their favor.
A big change
Whether it was because TLC showed Davis how serious they were or the label was forced to realize how badly they needed the group, Arista Records re-negotiated their contract.
So for the rest of their time there, any future success from their albums wouldn't leave the trio in poverty.
Bankruptcy actually helped too
Although their filing for bankruptcy after CrazySexyCool's release painted a stark picture of how exploitative their first contract was, it ended up playing a key role in their newfound prosperity.
So once all was said and done, TLC was in a healthy position to restructure their finances. And since they hadn't released "No Scrubs" yet, they would have their share of future success to enjoy.
Another step years later
And in more recent years, the surviving members of TLC re-recorded their old songs, which bumped up their share of the royalties and allowed them to own their masters.
As Chilli said, "Now, if anyone wants to license any of those songs, they can come to us instead of going somewhere else."
A bizarre adventure
TLC's story is one that features terrible setbacks and challenges.
But it's also a story of their triumphs and the unlikely and unprecedented ways they reached those triumphs -- following their gut and what they thought was right. Theirs was a long and winding road to success, but they made it!